A. Chapter One-Claudia Working with Children with Special Needs
A. What we need to know
1. They have their own unique strengths and weaknesses
2. Some have recognizable disabilities
3. Some exhibit challenging behaviors that interrupt daily routines
4. Some have nonspecific diagnosis
a. developmental delay
b. at risk because of environment or chronic health (without intervention can cause permanent delay)
5. Regardless of delay, all children learn best in a natural environment with typical developing peers and should be allowed to,participate in this kind of environment
B. Setting the Stage for Inclusion
1. In 1965 Head start was the first program to include special needs children
2. Public Law 94-142 - Education of all HandicappedChildren Act of 1975 mandated services for schoolage children
a. This Act introduced mainstreaming and other new terms
b. Time spent with typical peers was not educational, rather at recess or lunch
c. Other Acts lead to including three to five year olds
d. Finally in 2004, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act set very specific guidelines that school districts are required to adhere.
e. Guidelines included, appropriate and free education, assessments, IEPs, learning in a natural environment where children are members of a classroom community with all their peers
f. In order for this to happen, all those working in a "blended" classroom must fully understand the concepts and philosophy behind Inclusion
C. The Importance of and Meaningful Inclusion
1. Studies have shown that including special needs children in the classroom with their typically developing peers, benefits all children, provides long term effects and is cost effective
2. The Division of Early Childhood states that inclusion is "a value that supports the rights of all children, regardless of their diverse abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities".
3. Successful and meaningful inclusion requires a team approach, committment from all, and resources.
4. Resources should include time to meet with the special ed teacher, additional staff, access to support,planning and implementing the necessary curriculum and environment, funding, a clearly defined plan for working with the child's family to enable the child reach her potential
D. Philosophies and Strategies
1. Recognize that every child is unique and has worth regardless of his challenges
2. Understanding that children grow up in a society where not everyone is the same
3. Involves a team approach
4. Believe that all children are entitled to developmentally appropriate materials and exemplary practices that honor the child's strengths as well as his weaknesses
5. Inclusion is a process, not a specific product
6. Teacher flexibility to perceive when something works, and change when something doesn't.
7. Strategies, such as viewing all children as valuable members, using people first language when talking to a child ( Mary is a child with down syndrome), answering a child who asks a question about another child's disabilities honestly, explaining that everyone can do things well and needs help at times, give parents support, not pity
8. To help children accept their peers with special needs the teacher might have to adapt activities to meet all childrens needs, read stories about people with disabilities,remind children that they all have strengths and weaknesses; all children can learn; some take more time and practice, clearly demonstrate that there is "zero tolerance" for bullying, teasing, give a child task you know he can do.
9. Positive social interaction is often difficult for children with special needs. Teaching social emotional skills, such as making friends and keeping friends, knowing how to interact with a child and to ask a teacher for assistance are some survival skills needed to help a child learn.
E. Getting the Child's Family Involved
1.Understand that all parents want their child to be happy and successful; they want to hear about how well the child is doing as well as her challenges.
2. Assume that all parents are doing their best at the moment; empathize with them and try to understand how they might be feeling
3. Respect their opinions
4, Establish a rapport by being a resource for them, someone they can trust
5, Have a list of outside resources available to them
6. Empower, rather than enable them to use the tools availableto them
7. Be positive, listen carefully to them, ask them what they think
8. Show them what a valuable community rmember their child is by using the child's name when talking about the child.
Chapter Two-Claudia Blending the World of Special Education with General Education Services Blended Practices- "the combining of practices that can be used to address the needs of all children in inclusive settings".
This chapter elaborated on Chapter One in that it discussed in more detail the best practices according to NAEYC Universal Standards, Blending without ignoring best practices, and the roles of all the educators or team.
NAEYC is the largest professional organization to initiate developmentally appropriate guidelines for all children birth through eight years
These practices are: child development principles
assessment that is authentic and appropriate
considering the child in the context of his family
the importantance and value of adequate personnel preparation for people entering the field, as well as ongoing professional training for all those working with children
In addition, DEC has found Assistive Technology, which means any item that supports or helps children with special needs gain greater independence, to play an important role for children
The combination of both guidelines is an effective way to truly blend a program so that all children have the potential to learn and grow
Constructivism: Piaget, Vygotsky beleived that children need challenging opportunities to explore new activities and environments that allow them to develop "constructs" or beliefs about how things work. Bruner who also had the same beliefs furthered this theory by finding that learning is a process in which children construct or build new ideas or concepts based upon their current or past knowledge. The principles of this theory are: 1. Readiness----children must have the skills needed to complete a task.
2. If the task or activity or too difficult to carry out, it could mean failure or discouragement to the child
3. Past knowledge and problem-solving skills help the child solve new problems that are more complex
Children use what they already know to help them connect the new activities Behaviorism: Knowing what knowledge or skills children should acquire, then deeloping a curriculum that is designed to help the child acquire those skills. Learning results in permanent change in behavior, which is brought about by experience. Techniques of behaviorism: Successive Approximation or Shaping- through awards encourages children to try a new task
Modeling - showing the child how to do the task
Cueing - giving clues about what the child is to do
Preschool teachers use the "constructivist theory" where the child can mentally process the information the brain receives. Some children with special needs are unable to learn the mental processes needed to build on current or past knowledge. Thus Special Needs Educators use the "behaviorist theory". Blending these two theories in the inclusive classroom are appropriate and effective for all children. Direct Observation - the best method to use in planning activities for the child. 1. Select easy method for recording observations ( post it notes for example)
2. record exactly what you see or hear, not what you feel he is doing or saying
3. Record your observations immediately when they occur
4. Describe context of child's behavior and actions
5. Record something you might want to further examine
6. Try to observve the child in a variety of settings and times.
These observations can be crucial when planning an IEP meeting. IEP's are federally mandated and reflect the educational and behavior goals for that child during the school year. They must be reviewed every year and new goals must be written every year as well. Suggestions for planning a meeting are: Review the child's assessment and what the results were, bring anecdotal notes 9 observations), discuss with the planning team the strengths as well as challenges you are facing, bring portfolio, remember to use the child's name and use people-first language.
Special needs children are entitled to many other Related Services; Counseling, Medical, Occupational Therapy, Orientation, Physical therapy, Psychological, Speech, and Transportation to name a few.
There are several models the special educator can choose to teach the children. Colloborating with the general education teacher these models include the following: Lead Teacher: Where the general teacher provides instruction in a specific subject. The special ed teacher observes the instruction and designs the activities for children with special needs. These activities ensure that the child understands the concept. Learning Center: Both teachers are responsible for instruction in a specific location of the classroom. This method works well when the general education teacher has limited knowledge of special education. Team Teaching: Both teachers working together to provide instruction. The teachers work as a team to reinforce learning and provide assistance to students as needed. The special education teacher provides specially designed instruction to students with IEPs through direct instruction and modifications of specific content as needed. Consultation: The special ed teacher is used as a resource while the general ed teacher is the main instructor.
An assistant teacher or Paraprofessional, is critically important to the success or failure of the a child in an inclusive classroom. They assist the child with the everyday needs and confer with the teacher to help the child make progress and achieve success throughout the school year. They work together with the teacher to avoid "learned helplessness", which is when a child discovers that she can get help by pretending to be helpless and needy. The ability to function as independently as possible is an important goal for all special needs children and their educators. Chapter Three-Sherrie
Chapter Four-Sherrie
Chapter Five Donna Children with Cognitive Challenges I. Understanding the Challenges for Children with Cognitive Delays
A. Face many more difficulties learning new concepts than peers
B. Learning and development depend on- how they get along with others, how they adjust to new surroundings and changes in the daily routinte, motivational levels, any coexisitng disablities.
C. Children with cognitive challenges and the word mental retardation. Mental retardation also called developmental delay or cognitve delay.
1. Mental retardtion- IQ below 70
2. Patterns of learning that is slower that that of children who are developing according to traditional milestones.
3. Slower levlel of learning may be in areas of basic motor skills, speech and language skills, self-help skills, or problem-solving
skills.
4. Slow development must persist into adulthood.
D. Cognitive delays are not curable. Early intervention is the key to future success' II. Characteristics of Children with Cognitive Challenges
A. Children with cognitive delays develop more slowly then peers,
B. Take longer to learn a new skill.
C. May forget a skill previously learned.
D. May have short attention span.
E. May have difficulty with language and communication skills
G. May have difficulty processing new information and tranferring a learned skill to a new setting. III. A Child With Cognitive Challenges will need
A. New information broken down into smaller steps
B. Many opportunities to practice new skills
C. Review of previously learned skills
D. Cues such as picture sequencing cards are helpful IV. Educational Implication
A. Children with mild cognition delays may not be diagnosed until Kindergarten or 1st grade to avoid confusion with possible developmental lag that given time and experience will develop normally.
1. Many children with cognitive delays are labeled developmentally delayed until 1st or 2nd grade.
2. Children with severe cognitive delays are labeled by 3 years old.
-Educational implications-Focus on teaching functional skills need to be independent in daily routine V. What are Functional Skills
A. Self-help skills, everyday skills, and daily life skills-help child gain independence, feel more in control of their world, help develop child's self esteem.
B. Functional Skills that children use through out their lives are-
1. bathroom skills
2. personal hygiene
3. eating
4. dressing
5. simple routine
6. learning survival words or frequently used words used in daily life- on, off, stop
C. Success of learning the task dependent on child's developmental level, family support in learning process VI. Work as a Team
A. Parent
B. Speech Pathologist
C. Occupational therapists
D. Physical Therapists
E. All teaching staff members and child's caregivers VII. What to do first before teaching a skill
A. Decide with family skill to be learned based on developmental level of child and wishes of family
B. Inform the team
C. Make a list of vocabulary associated witht he new skill
D. Make a task by task analysis of skill
E. Simplify steps include pictures whenever possible
F. Practice the steps. Decide on best time to start learning
G. Practice skill in the natural environment
H. Make sequence cards. Place the sequence card infront of the child and talk about them.
I. Keep family and team involved.
J. Give the child time to practice the skill one step at a time. Expectations should be realistic. VIII. Classroom Suggestions for Childern with Cogntive Challenges
A. Plan specific and concrete activities
B. Use real objects when possible
C. Use natural Environement where the activity is expected
D.Observe child during the day to discover how child learns best visual or audio cues.
E. Teach new information in small incremental steps. Break down information into essential components. Only teach the child what is necessary
F. Use modeling and imitation to provide extra opportunities to practice
G. Use task-analysis approach to teach a new skill
H Give clear concrete directions.
I. Help team to understand that the child may not learn in the same manner or as quickly as other.
J. Child will and can learn.
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven-Jen Children with Communication Delays I. What is communication? A. Interaction between two or more people where information is sent between one person and another. B. Most common method is speech; information is set and received is called language. C. Most common developmental problem is delayed speech and/or language development. D.Statistice vary, but 5-10% of 4 and 5 year old children are believed to have speech and language delays. II. Understanding the Child's "Form" of Communication A.Form is a way to communicate; generally it is speech. 1. Articulation is how sounds are pronounced. 2. Misarticulation is when sounds within words are misunderstood. B. Misarticulation is a normal part of the process of learning to talk. C. "Red flags" that indicate a child may have an articulation problem beyond the scope of typical development: 1. Not speaking clearly eough for the teacher to understand much of what is said 2. Inconsistent substitution (tookie for cookie) or omission of sounds 3. Inability to combine sounds into words 4. Not producing enough seech sounds to combine them into words. III. Function and Content of Communication A. Two comonents of communication: 1. Receptive langauge-how well a child responds as they understand what someone is saying to them. 2. Expressive language-how well a child uses or responds with words and sentences. B. Language Delay/Disorder 1. Language Delay-Child whose language development is in right sequence, but slower rate than peers 2. Language Disorder-atypical language development, such as limited words, no words, or no sentences C. Four components that are part of language acquisition 1. Phonology-system of sound segments that humans use to build up words 2. Semantics-system of meanings that are expressed by words and phrases 3. Grammar-system of rues by which words and phrases are arranged to make meaningful statements 4. Pragmatics-system of patterns that determine how humans use language in social settings for conversation D. "Red flags" 1.express herslef with one word 2. has difficulty following simple one or two step directions 3. unable to answer a simple question 4. does not initiate conversations with adults or peers 5. does not use verbs, only nouns 6. difficulty describing what she wants or needs 7. nonverbal IV. The Nonverbal Child A. Examples 1. Child who is selecively mute 2. Sign language to commnicate B. Sign langauge can also be used to bridge the verbal and nonverbal gap C. Some will never learn spoken language, must use alternate or augmentive forms of communication 1. Low tech-pictures/objects 2. High tech-battery operated device that child activates in some manner and it talks for the child. V. Cleft Lip and Palate A. Cleft palate-opening or split in the oral structures that can be surgically repaired (starting at 12 months); a fistula (reopening of the palate) can happen any time after surgery. 1. Hard to produce oral consonants that require a stop of air (p,b,t,d,k,g,s,sh,ch, and f); may end up being nasalized 2. Even if the child doesn't have a fistula, they may have learned compensatory ways to produce these sounds 3. Articulation can also e affected if they pharyngeal walll (in back of throat) cannot be reaached by the soft palate; this causes something called hypernasal speech. VI. Childhood Aproxia of Speech (CAS) A. It's a motor speech disorder; problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. B. Brain has difficulty planning movement of the body parts needed for speech. C. Child with CAS will: 1.Make inconsistent sound errors that are not a result of immaturity 2.Understand language but see unable to use it effectively 3.Have difficulty immitating speech 4.Have moredifficulty saying longer words.
Chapter Eight-Jen Children with Emotional/Behavior Disorders I. What are Challenging Behaviors? A. Challenging behaviors are actions by the child that cause an interruption of their learning or the learning of those around the child. II. Young Children and Mental Health A. At risk for mental illness when: 1. The symptoms occur often and last a long time (several months) 2. The symptoms are present in more than one setting (school, home, community) 3. The symptoms cause distress and impair normal functioning B. Overall, temperament, genetic disposition of the child, relationshop with their family, and their environment can influence their mental health. III. Anxiety Disorders A. A child is considered to have an anxiety disorder if: 1. When fear-related or avoidance behavior prevents the child from doing the things that they woud otherwise want to do 2. When a child displays a behavior beyond the age when she is expected to do so 3. Children normally go through phases of obsessive behavior, but if it continues and interrupts daily activities it's a disorder. B. Main characteristics are worrying about things/events that are not real, physical ailments that are not related to an actual illness prolonged tension, and difficulty relaxing. C. Classroom suggestions for anxiety disorders: 1. Help the child learn problem-solving techniques 2. Develop routines that foster independence 3. Keep the hcild engaged and involved in activities 4. Respect this issue, don't "play into" them by allowing the child to constantly discuss them 5. Be consistent, yet patient, with the child and remember the anxieties are very real. IV. Seperation Anxiety A. Seperation anxiety is very common in young children when they are becoming seperated with their parent. B. By the time the chld is in preschool this fear should only be present occasionally. C. Characteristics include: 1. Persistant unrealistic fear that some destructive event will happen that prevents the return of the adult or the adult won't return at all 2. Apprehension that something will happen to increase the child's separation from the adult 3. Unwillingness to sleep without the adult 4. Avoidance of other children after being left by the adult 5. Physical Manifestations-stomachache, headache, vomiting, etc. 6. Repeted signs of distress-tantrums, crying, or pleading not to leave 7. Repeted need to speak to the adult, call the adult at work, or be near the adult at all times C. Classroom suggestions 1. Help the child feel safe and reassured that the adult is coming back; do not dwell on it 2. Help the child develop social skills to cope with being left 3. Encourage routines that help the child feel secure 4. Make sure the child has time to transition and calm down after being upset 5. Work with the child to help her recognize that her parent will return IV. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) A. PTSD is diagnosed when a child has witnessed a catastrophic event that has traumatized the child, thus resulting in the inability to function as the child would normally. However the child must be displaying symptoms for at least one month. B. See table 8.1 on page 86 for major symptoms of PTSD C. Classroom suggestions 1. Help the child feel safee and try to use a softer voice whenever possible 2. Help the child manage and identify their emotions 3. Work with the child's family and therapist to learn what they feel is appropriate for you to discuss with the child about the event. 4. Answer questions as frankly and as often as they are asked; worst thing is to ignore it and treat it like the event never happened. 5. Learn to recognize what activities or events trigger the event and eventually help the child learn to recognize these triggers. VI. Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) A. Devined as "a pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior lasting at least six months" for which at least four of the following behaviors are present: 1. Child often looses their temper to the extreme 2. Chld argues with adults about everything 3. Child often actively defies or refuses to cooperaate with adult requests or rules 4. Child deliberately annoys people 5. Child blames others constantly for her mistkes or misbehavior 6. Child is touchy or easily annoyed by others or gets mad over insignificant events 7. Child seems angry and resentful most of the time 8. Child is very spiteful, vindictive, or wants to punish others for what the child believes to be injustices toward her. B. The challenging behaviors must interfere with his learning and social interactions with others. Best source of information is always the family. C. Children may develop a conduct disorder which includes problems of violence toward people and animals, destruction of property, theft or shoplifting, and serious problems following rules at school or at home. D. ODD can be treated if diagnosed early and if interventions begin in preschool or early school years E. Classroom suggestions 1. Keep simple routines 2. Make sure rules are clear, specific, and consistently enforced 3. Deal with the behaviors as they occur and work closely with the family and their therapist to monitor progress 4. Try to keep the child actively engaged in daily activities as much as possible VII. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) A. ADHD is used to describe a neurobehavioral condition that is often characterised by excessive restlessness, inattention, distraction, and imulsivity. B. To be diagnosed a child must have symptoms that impair his ability to function as well as other children the same age, these symptoms must last at least six months. C. Some of the most common characteristics are: 1. Inability to pay attention 2. Hyperactivity 3. Impulsive D. Three subtypes of ADHD 1. Primarily inattentive: symptoms related to inattention and not implsivity 2. Primarily hyperactive/impulsive: symptoms are more in line with being hyperactive and unable to control impulses 3. Those with combined symptoms of all three E. Medication Issues 1. Multi-modal Treatment Study-(MTA) used the common medication (methylphenidate) and behavioral therapy. 2. Behavior treatents in the MTA study include three approaches: a. Parent training-help parents learn about ADHD and ways to manage behaviors b. Child-focused treatment- help children learn to develop social, academic, and problem-solving skills c. School-based intervention-help teachers meet children's educational needs by teachng them skills to manage behaviors int he classroom (rewards, consequences, and daily report cards home). F. Classroom suggestions 1. Keep rules simple and enforce them consistently 2. Provide guides such as picture cards for classroom rules 3. Practice specific social skills, such as waiting for a turn or asking for a toy 4. Help the child learn to organize their materials 5. Keep constant communication with the child's family 6. Know medication schedule and how it will be administered 7. Praise the child when they complete a task or activity 8. Provide an avenue for the child to let you know when they need to get up and move around. 9. Work with the child's family to develop a systematic method for rewarding positive behavior 10. If playgroups or support groups are available they are very effective
Chapter Nine-Cailin Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder I. Spectrum Disorder
A. Includes children with characteristics that range from mild to severe.
II. Autism
A. A biological disorder that lasts throughout a person's life
B. Causes delays or problems in different areas.
C. Falls under the broad category called pervasive developmental delays (PDD).
D. To be diagnosed with one of the five types, a child must exhibit delayed or atypical behaviors in atleast one of the three categories:
1. Interaction with others (social interaction)
2. Communication (response to others)
3. Behavior (includes bizarre or stereotypical behaviors, such as hand flapping) III. Five Types of Autism
A. Autism
1. To be diagnosed, a significant number of characteristics must clearly be present:
a. A delay in social interaction such as eye contact or facial expression.
b. A delay in communication such as being nonverbal or using fewer words than peers.
c. Presence of behaviors that may be intense, almost obsessive, preoccupation with objects. As well as the need for routines that are nonfunctional and ritualistic and repeating motor movements over and over (hand flapping or rocking back and forth).
B. Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)
1. Often confused with PDD.
2. Used when it is determined that a child has autism while the characteristics displayed are not like the characteristics of other children with autism.
3. Also used when the onset of the disorder happens after 3 years of age.
C. Asperger syndrome
1. Children diagnosed typically behave like children with other types of autism when they are young.
2. As they age, children often learn how to socialize, communicate, and behave in more socially acceptable ways.
3. Most children with this sydrome have normal or above normal intelligence.
4. Children also said to have difficulty with coordination, vocal tone, depression, violent reactions to change, and a tendency for ritualistic behaviors.
5. May develop intense obsessions with objects or activities.
D. Rett's sydrome (or Rett's disorder)
1. A degenerative condition (worsens with time).
2. Begins in the first two years of life and is found almost only in girls.
3. Characteristics include loss of motor skills, hand wringing and repetitive hand movements, and a decrease in head growth.
4. Seizures and sleeping disorders also develop in many girls.
E. Childhood disintegrative disorder (sometimes called Heller's sydrome)
1. A degenerative condition.
2. Child may begin to develop normally but over a few months, will start to lose or forget how to do things.
3. Usually happens between ages three and four. IV. Look at Child's Behavior
A.Children with autism traditionally do not learn by watching others and picking up environmental cues like typically developing children.
B. Their instruction must be more explicit.
C. A Applied behavior analysist can help teachers and children establish rules for setting up the environment to enable children with autism learn. And also help teachers identify the functions or reasons behind certain behaviors.
D. Children with autism function best when they have the following:
1. Structure and predictable routines
2. Environments that don't distract
3. Verbal reminders of what will happen next
4. Picture schedules
5. A quiet place to go where they can be alone for a few minutes
6. A classroom that doesn't overwhelm their senses with too much light or noise
Chapter Ten-Cailin Children with Sensory Processing Disorder I. Sensory Integration
A. The process in which information is received through the senses and sent to the brain to be organized.
B. Most people develop the ability to filter out unnecessary sensory information and respond appropriately to the environment.
C. Along with the five senses, the vestibular (movement) and proprioception (awareness of body position) senses are also important.
D. The vestibular system helps determine a sense of balance, eye-hand coordination, using both sides of the body to move such as for running, and orientation of the head.
E. The proprioceptive system orients the child so she knows where her body is in space (upright, lying down), provides the central nervous system with information that affects the muscles and joints, allows the child to know the distance, and also regulates the amount of pressure that is comfortable.
F. When these senses cannot work together to regulate the nervous system and build the foundation of purposeful movement, a child may develop a sensory integration disorder.
II. Sensory Integration Disorder
A. Used to describe a child who is unable to analyze and respond appropriately to the information received through their senses.
B. Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have significant sensory integration issues however, it is not always linked to a specific type of autism.
C. There are two types of SI disorders: hypersensitive (overstimulated by sensory information) and hyposensitive (understimulated by sensory information).
1. Hypersensitive:
a. Children may cover their eyes when lights are too bright or when pictures are too colorful.
b. Covers their ears at the slightest noise.
c. Holds nose a common odors.
d. Gets upset when touched, sensitive to textures and materials and are opposed to getting dirty.
e. Eats foods of only a certain texture or sensitive to hot and cold foods.
f. Doesn't like to move, dance, hop, etc. Walks off balance.
2. Hyposensitive:
a. Children may seem like they have vision loss (doesn't respond to light) or may stare at flickering lights.
b. Speaks and sings loudly and plays music or the television too loudly.
c. Ignores bad odors (does not respond to strong odors).
d. Bumps into people, seemingly unable to tell when he is in pain or injured or does not cry when he falls.
e. Wants to eat only spicy food, adds a lot of salt or pepper to food, or may lick objects or toys.
f. Likes to move fast, doesn't get dizzy when twirling around, and in constant motion.
III. How to Make the Classroom Sensory "Friendly"
A. The combination of alerting, organizing, and calming techniques can help a child with sensory issues cope with all the input he receives.
B. An occupational therapist can help you learn how to organize the environment to be more "sensory friendly."
C. Children with SI disorders often respond well to items that enable them to better organize all the input they receive through their senses, such as using chew toys, weighted vests, toys to squeeze, and soft seats.
D. For children
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen-Jamie HANDLING CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS What is challenging behavior
Behaviors they exhibit occur for two reasons... A: either to gain access to something they perceive as needed B: to avoid someting that is undesirable
The following activities can help minimize the amount of time spent on dealing with challenging behaviors... A: modeling appropriate behavior B: offering choices C: being proactive and making expectations clear, before challenging behaviors occur D: verbally acknowledge positive behaviors E: encourage children to interact with others appropriately What behaviors can be tolerated A: if a child is engaging in a behavior that could result in injury to themselves or others, it must be stopped immediately B: if a child is engaging in a behavior that can be ignored, then ignoring is often the best option What is a functional assessment
The process of determining the relationship between events in a persons environment and the occurrence of challenging behaviors... A: identify and define the challeging behavior B: identify the events and circumstances regulary associated with the occurrence and the nonoccurrences of the challenging behavior C: determine the social function or purpose that brought about the challenging behavior
Other setting events that may trigger the challenging behavior... A: staff changes B: medication changes C: sleep habits D: illness E: stress F: chaotic environment G: surprise visits H: aggression by a peer I: temperature changes J: dissatisfaction with a specific event Identification of positive behavior
All children should be taught several important positive behaviors... A: trust B: social relationships C: managing feelings D: motivation E: finding solutions to challenges F: respect for other and themselves Strategies
There are many different strategies that involve a purpose, a focus, a develop, a practice, and a reflect A: communicative replacement B: learning to wait C: i think i can, i know i can D: rejecting an optimal activity E: anger management
Chapter Sixteen-Jamie BUILDING COMMUNICATION Understanding communication
Communication is about sending and receiving messages. The important thing to remember is that before a child can effectively communicate, they must have the tools they need to do so and they must know how to use those tools. Levels of communication development A: its all abut me (egocentric)
- reaching out to an adult with their hands to indicate "i want"
- screaming or throwing a tantrum when they dont get what they want
- smiling when someone looks at them
- being open with those they know and beig very shy around strangers and new people
- interacting with adults who are familier to them
- repeating phrases over and over just for fun B: i want it (requesting)
- grabbing your hand and pulling you toward something they want
- saying a few basic words
- moving their body to communicate "i want more"
- learning to sign the word "more" by putting their hands together
- approximating words or attempting a few new words C: actions and reactions (emerging communication)
- taking turns with others
- understanding the names of those familiar the them
- repeating what they just heard
- using gestures more consistently such as shaking their head "no"
- answering simple questions
- asking for something or requesting the continuation of an activity
- using words or signs in more meaningful ways D: two way street (reciprocal communication)
- intentionally using words to greet
- asking questions and describing important events
- epressing ideas and feelings that are relevant to them
- having short conversations
- repeating something if they think the listener does not understand
- starting to use longer sentences with more descriptive words How do you set appropriate goals for communication
Several general guidlines can be considered when planning activities such as... A: learning to communicate with others should always be a top priority for every child B: every child must have a reliable way to communictae, which means if the child is nonverbal alternative methods must be considered C: the ultimate goal is for any child to communicate because it is meaningful to them. You want the child to learn to use communication as a form of self expression. D: help the child use communication as a way to connect their world with that of their peers What about children who are nonverbal
For these children it may be necessary to use an alternative or augmentative form of communication, which would be a low techand a high tech method. A: low tech method includes pictures or objects that the child either points to or selects as a way to tell you what they want or need B: high tech method inclued a battery operated device that the child activates in some manner or a computer that talks for the child
Working with Children with Special Needs
A. What we need to know
1. They have their own unique strengths and weaknesses
2. Some have recognizable disabilities
3. Some exhibit challenging behaviors that interrupt daily routines
4. Some have nonspecific diagnosis
a. developmental delay
b. at risk because of environment or chronic health (without intervention can cause permanent delay)
5. Regardless of delay, all children learn best in a natural environment with typical developing peers and should be allowed to,participate in this kind of environment
B. Setting the Stage for Inclusion
1. In 1965 Head start was the first program to include special needs children
2. Public Law 94-142 - Education of all HandicappedChildren Act of 1975 mandated services for schoolage children
a. This Act introduced mainstreaming and other new terms
b. Time spent with typical peers was not educational, rather at recess or lunch
c. Other Acts lead to including three to five year olds
d. Finally in 2004, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act set very specific guidelines that school districts are required to adhere.
e. Guidelines included, appropriate and free education, assessments, IEPs, learning in a natural environment where children are members of a classroom community with all their peers
f. In order for this to happen, all those working in a "blended" classroom must fully understand the concepts and philosophy behind Inclusion
C. The Importance of and Meaningful Inclusion
1. Studies have shown that including special needs children in the classroom with their typically developing peers, benefits all children, provides long term effects and is cost effective
2. The Division of Early Childhood states that inclusion is "a value that supports the rights of all children, regardless of their diverse abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities".
3. Successful and meaningful inclusion requires a team approach, committment from all, and resources.
4. Resources should include time to meet with the special ed teacher, additional staff, access to support,planning and implementing the necessary curriculum and environment, funding, a clearly defined plan for working with the child's family to enable the child reach her potential
D. Philosophies and Strategies
1. Recognize that every child is unique and has worth regardless of his challenges
2. Understanding that children grow up in a society where not everyone is the same
3. Involves a team approach
4. Believe that all children are entitled to developmentally appropriate materials and exemplary practices that honor the child's strengths as well as his weaknesses
5. Inclusion is a process, not a specific product
6. Teacher flexibility to perceive when something works, and change when something doesn't.
7. Strategies, such as viewing all children as valuable members, using people first language when talking to a child ( Mary is a child with down syndrome), answering a child who asks a question about another child's disabilities honestly, explaining that everyone can do things well and needs help at times, give parents support, not pity
8. To help children accept their peers with special needs the teacher might have to adapt activities to meet all childrens needs, read stories about people with disabilities,remind children that they all have strengths and weaknesses; all children can learn; some take more time and practice, clearly demonstrate that there is "zero tolerance" for bullying, teasing, give a child task you know he can do.
9. Positive social interaction is often difficult for children with special needs. Teaching social emotional skills, such as making friends and keeping friends, knowing how to interact with a child and to ask a teacher for assistance are some survival skills needed to help a child learn.
E. Getting the Child's Family Involved
1.Understand that all parents want their child to be happy and successful; they want to hear about how well the child is doing as well as her challenges.
2. Assume that all parents are doing their best at the moment; empathize with them and try to understand how they might be feeling
3. Respect their opinions
4, Establish a rapport by being a resource for them, someone they can trust
5, Have a list of outside resources available to them
6. Empower, rather than enable them to use the tools availableto them
7. Be positive, listen carefully to them, ask them what they think
8. Show them what a valuable community rmember their child is by using the child's name when talking about the child.
Chapter Two-Claudia
Blending the World of Special Education with General Education Services
Blended Practices- "the combining of practices that can be used to address the needs of all children in inclusive settings".
This chapter elaborated on Chapter One in that it discussed in more detail the best practices according to NAEYC Universal Standards, Blending without ignoring best practices, and the roles of all the educators or team.
- NAEYC is the largest professional organization to initiate developmentally appropriate guidelines for all children birth through eight years
- These practices are: child development principles
- assessment that is authentic and appropriate
- considering the child in the context of his family
- the importantance and value of adequate personnel preparation for people entering the field, as well as ongoing professional training for all those working with children
- In addition, DEC has found Assistive Technology, which means any item that supports or helps children with special needs gain greater independence, to play an important role for children
- The combination of both guidelines is an effective way to truly blend a program so that all children have the potential to learn and grow
Constructivism: Piaget, Vygotsky beleived that children need challenging opportunities to explore new activities and environments that allow them to develop "constructs" or beliefs about how things work. Bruner who also had the same beliefs furthered this theory by finding that learning is a process in which children construct or build new ideas or concepts based upon their current or past knowledge. The principles of this theory are: 1. Readiness----children must have the skills needed to complete a task.2. If the task or activity or too difficult to carry out, it could mean failure or discouragement to the child
3. Past knowledge and problem-solving skills help the child solve new problems that are more complex
Children use what they already know to help them connect the new activities
Behaviorism: Knowing what knowledge or skills children should acquire, then deeloping a curriculum that is designed to help the child acquire those skills. Learning results in permanent change in behavior, which is brought about by experience. Techniques of behaviorism: Successive Approximation or Shaping- through awards encourages children to try a new task
Modeling - showing the child how to do the task
Cueing - giving clues about what the child is to do
Preschool teachers use the "constructivist theory" where the child can mentally process the information the brain receives. Some children with special needs are unable to learn the mental processes needed to build on current or past knowledge. Thus Special Needs Educators use the "behaviorist theory". Blending these two theories in the inclusive classroom are appropriate and effective for all children.
Direct Observation - the best method to use in planning activities for the child. 1. Select easy method for recording observations ( post it notes for example)
2. record exactly what you see or hear, not what you feel he is doing or saying
3. Record your observations immediately when they occur
4. Describe context of child's behavior and actions
5. Record something you might want to further examine
6. Try to observve the child in a variety of settings and times.
These observations can be crucial when planning an IEP meeting. IEP's are federally mandated and reflect the educational and behavior goals for that child during the school year. They must be reviewed every year and new goals must be written every year as well. Suggestions for planning a meeting are: Review the child's assessment and what the results were, bring anecdotal notes 9 observations), discuss with the planning team the strengths as well as challenges you are facing, bring portfolio, remember to use the child's name and use people-first language.
Special needs children are entitled to many other Related Services; Counseling, Medical, Occupational Therapy, Orientation, Physical therapy, Psychological, Speech, and Transportation to name a few.
There are several models the special educator can choose to teach the children. Colloborating with the general education teacher these models include the following:
Lead Teacher: Where the general teacher provides instruction in a specific subject. The special ed teacher observes the instruction and designs the activities for children with special needs. These activities ensure that the child understands the concept.
Learning Center: Both teachers are responsible for instruction in a specific location of the classroom. This method works well when the general education teacher has limited knowledge of special education.
Team Teaching: Both teachers working together to provide instruction. The teachers work as a team to reinforce learning and provide assistance to students as needed. The special education teacher provides specially designed instruction to students with IEPs through direct instruction and modifications of specific content as needed.
Consultation: The special ed teacher is used as a resource while the general ed teacher is the main instructor.
An assistant teacher or Paraprofessional, is critically important to the success or failure of the a child in an inclusive classroom. They assist the child with the everyday needs and confer with the teacher to help the child make progress and achieve success throughout the school year. They work together with the teacher to avoid "learned helplessness", which is when a child discovers that she can get help by pretending to be helpless and needy. The ability to function as independently as possible is an important goal for all special needs children and their educators.
Chapter Three-Sherrie
Chapter Four-Sherrie
Chapter Five Donna
Children with Cognitive Challenges
I. Understanding the Challenges for Children with Cognitive Delays
A. Face many more difficulties learning new concepts than peers
B. Learning and development depend on- how they get along with others, how they adjust to new surroundings and changes in the daily routinte, motivational levels, any coexisitng disablities.
C. Children with cognitive challenges and the word mental retardation. Mental retardation also called developmental delay or cognitve delay.
1. Mental retardtion- IQ below 70
2. Patterns of learning that is slower that that of children who are developing according to traditional milestones.
3. Slower levlel of learning may be in areas of basic motor skills, speech and language skills, self-help skills, or problem-solving
skills.
4. Slow development must persist into adulthood.
D. Cognitive delays are not curable. Early intervention is the key to future success'
II. Characteristics of Children with Cognitive Challenges
A. Children with cognitive delays develop more slowly then peers,
B. Take longer to learn a new skill.
C. May forget a skill previously learned.
D. May have short attention span.
E. May have difficulty with language and communication skills
G. May have difficulty processing new information and tranferring a learned skill to a new setting.
III. A Child With Cognitive Challenges will need
A. New information broken down into smaller steps
B. Many opportunities to practice new skills
C. Review of previously learned skills
D. Cues such as picture sequencing cards are helpful
IV. Educational Implication
A. Children with mild cognition delays may not be diagnosed until Kindergarten or 1st grade to avoid confusion with possible developmental lag that given time and experience will develop normally.
1. Many children with cognitive delays are labeled developmentally delayed until 1st or 2nd grade.
2. Children with severe cognitive delays are labeled by 3 years old.
-Educational implications-Focus on teaching functional skills need to be independent in daily routine
V. What are Functional Skills
A. Self-help skills, everyday skills, and daily life skills-help child gain independence, feel more in control of their world, help develop child's self esteem.
B. Functional Skills that children use through out their lives are-
1. bathroom skills
2. personal hygiene
3. eating
4. dressing
5. simple routine
6. learning survival words or frequently used words used in daily life- on, off, stop
C. Success of learning the task dependent on child's developmental level, family support in learning process
VI. Work as a Team
A. Parent
B. Speech Pathologist
C. Occupational therapists
D. Physical Therapists
E. All teaching staff members and child's caregivers
VII. What to do first before teaching a skill
A. Decide with family skill to be learned based on developmental level of child and wishes of family
B. Inform the team
C. Make a list of vocabulary associated witht he new skill
D. Make a task by task analysis of skill
E. Simplify steps include pictures whenever possible
F. Practice the steps. Decide on best time to start learning
G. Practice skill in the natural environment
H. Make sequence cards. Place the sequence card infront of the child and talk about them.
I. Keep family and team involved.
J. Give the child time to practice the skill one step at a time. Expectations should be realistic.
VIII. Classroom Suggestions for Childern with Cogntive Challenges
A. Plan specific and concrete activities
B. Use real objects when possible
C. Use natural Environement where the activity is expected
D.Observe child during the day to discover how child learns best visual or audio cues.
E. Teach new information in small incremental steps. Break down information into essential components. Only teach the child what is necessary
F. Use modeling and imitation to provide extra opportunities to practice
G. Use task-analysis approach to teach a new skill
H Give clear concrete directions.
I. Help team to understand that the child may not learn in the same manner or as quickly as other.
J. Child will and can learn.
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven-Jen
Children with Communication Delays
I. What is communication?
A. Interaction between two or more people where information is sent between one person and another.
B. Most common method is speech; information is set and received is called language.
C. Most common developmental problem is delayed speech and/or language development.
D.Statistice vary, but 5-10% of 4 and 5 year old children are believed to have speech and language delays.
II. Understanding the Child's "Form" of Communication
A. Form is a way to communicate; generally it is speech.
1. Articulation is how sounds are pronounced.
2. Misarticulation is when sounds within words are misunderstood.
B. Misarticulation is a normal part of the process of learning to talk.
C. "Red flags" that indicate a child may have an articulation problem beyond the scope of typical development:
1. Not speaking clearly eough for the teacher to understand much of what is said
2. Inconsistent substitution (tookie for cookie) or omission of sounds
3. Inability to combine sounds into words
4. Not producing enough seech sounds to combine them into words.
III. Function and Content of Communication
A. Two comonents of communication:
1. Receptive langauge-how well a child responds as they understand what someone is saying to them.
2. Expressive language-how well a child uses or responds with words and sentences.
B. Language Delay/Disorder
1. Language Delay-Child whose language development is in right sequence, but slower rate than peers
2. Language Disorder-atypical language development, such as limited words, no words, or no sentences
C. Four components that are part of language acquisition
1. Phonology-system of sound segments that humans use to build up words
2. Semantics-system of meanings that are expressed by words and phrases
3. Grammar-system of rues by which words and phrases are arranged to make meaningful statements
4. Pragmatics-system of patterns that determine how humans use language in social settings for conversation
D. "Red flags"
1.express herslef with one word
2. has difficulty following simple one or two step directions
3. unable to answer a simple question
4. does not initiate conversations with adults or peers
5. does not use verbs, only nouns
6. difficulty describing what she wants or needs
7. nonverbal
IV. The Nonverbal Child
A. Examples
1. Child who is selecively mute
2. Sign language to commnicate
B. Sign langauge can also be used to bridge the verbal and nonverbal gap
C. Some will never learn spoken language, must use alternate or augmentive forms of communication
1. Low tech-pictures/objects
2. High tech-battery operated device that child activates in some manner and it talks for the child.
V. Cleft Lip and Palate
A. Cleft palate-opening or split in the oral structures that can be surgically repaired (starting at 12 months); a fistula (reopening of the palate) can happen any time after surgery.
1. Hard to produce oral consonants that require a stop of air (p,b,t,d,k,g,s,sh,ch, and f); may end up being nasalized
2. Even if the child doesn't have a fistula, they may have learned compensatory ways to produce these sounds
3. Articulation can also e affected if they pharyngeal walll (in back of throat) cannot be reaached by the soft palate; this causes something called hypernasal speech.
VI. Childhood Aproxia of Speech (CAS)
A. It's a motor speech disorder; problems saying sounds, syllables, and words.
B. Brain has difficulty planning movement of the body parts needed for speech.
C. Child with CAS will:
1.Make inconsistent sound errors that are not a result of immaturity
2.Understand language but see unable to use it effectively
3.Have difficulty immitating speech
4.Have moredifficulty saying longer words.
Chapter Eight-Jen
Children with Emotional/Behavior Disorders
I. What are Challenging Behaviors?
A. Challenging behaviors are actions by the child that cause an interruption of their learning or the learning of those around the child.
II. Young Children and Mental Health
A. At risk for mental illness when:
1. The symptoms occur often and last a long time (several months)
2. The symptoms are present in more than one setting (school, home, community)
3. The symptoms cause distress and impair normal functioning
B. Overall, temperament, genetic disposition of the child, relationshop with their family, and their environment can influence their mental health.
III. Anxiety Disorders
A. A child is considered to have an anxiety disorder if:
1. When fear-related or avoidance behavior prevents the child from doing the things that they woud otherwise want to do
2. When a child displays a behavior beyond the age when she is expected to do so
3. Children normally go through phases of obsessive behavior, but if it continues and interrupts daily activities it's a disorder.
B. Main characteristics are worrying about things/events that are not real, physical ailments that are not related to an actual illness prolonged tension, and difficulty relaxing.
C. Classroom suggestions for anxiety disorders:
1. Help the child learn problem-solving techniques
2. Develop routines that foster independence
3. Keep the hcild engaged and involved in activities
4. Respect this issue, don't "play into" them by allowing the child to constantly discuss them
5. Be consistent, yet patient, with the child and remember the anxieties are very real.
IV. Seperation Anxiety
A. Seperation anxiety is very common in young children when they are becoming seperated with their parent.
B. By the time the chld is in preschool this fear should only be present occasionally.
C. Characteristics include:
1. Persistant unrealistic fear that some destructive event will happen that prevents the return of the adult or the adult won't return at all
2. Apprehension that something will happen to increase the child's separation from the adult
3. Unwillingness to sleep without the adult
4. Avoidance of other children after being left by the adult
5. Physical Manifestations-stomachache, headache, vomiting, etc.
6. Repeted signs of distress-tantrums, crying, or pleading not to leave
7. Repeted need to speak to the adult, call the adult at work, or be near the adult at all times
C. Classroom suggestions
1. Help the child feel safe and reassured that the adult is coming back; do not dwell on it
2. Help the child develop social skills to cope with being left
3. Encourage routines that help the child feel secure
4. Make sure the child has time to transition and calm down after being upset
5. Work with the child to help her recognize that her parent will return
IV. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
A. PTSD is diagnosed when a child has witnessed a catastrophic event that has traumatized the child, thus resulting in the inability to function as the child would normally. However the child must be displaying symptoms for at least one month.
B. See table 8.1 on page 86 for major symptoms of PTSD
C. Classroom suggestions
1. Help the child feel safee and try to use a softer voice whenever possible
2. Help the child manage and identify their emotions
3. Work with the child's family and therapist to learn what they feel is appropriate for you to discuss with the child about the event.
4. Answer questions as frankly and as often as they are asked; worst thing is to ignore it and treat it like the event never happened.
5. Learn to recognize what activities or events trigger the event and eventually help the child learn to recognize these triggers.
VI. Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
A. Devined as "a pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior lasting at least six months" for which at least four of the following behaviors are present:
1. Child often looses their temper to the extreme
2. Chld argues with adults about everything
3. Child often actively defies or refuses to cooperaate with adult requests or rules
4. Child deliberately annoys people
5. Child blames others constantly for her mistkes or misbehavior
6. Child is touchy or easily annoyed by others or gets mad over insignificant events
7. Child seems angry and resentful most of the time
8. Child is very spiteful, vindictive, or wants to punish others for what the child believes to be injustices toward her.
B. The challenging behaviors must interfere with his learning and social interactions with others. Best source of information is always the family.
C. Children may develop a conduct disorder which includes problems of violence toward people and animals, destruction of property, theft or shoplifting, and serious problems following rules at school or at home.
D. ODD can be treated if diagnosed early and if interventions begin in preschool or early school years
E. Classroom suggestions
1. Keep simple routines
2. Make sure rules are clear, specific, and consistently enforced
3. Deal with the behaviors as they occur and work closely with the family and their therapist to monitor progress
4. Try to keep the child actively engaged in daily activities as much as possible
VII. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
A. ADHD is used to describe a neurobehavioral condition that is often characterised by excessive restlessness, inattention, distraction, and imulsivity.
B. To be diagnosed a child must have symptoms that impair his ability to function as well as other children the same age, these symptoms must last at least six months.
C. Some of the most common characteristics are:
1. Inability to pay attention
2. Hyperactivity
3. Impulsive
D. Three subtypes of ADHD
1. Primarily inattentive: symptoms related to inattention and not implsivity
2. Primarily hyperactive/impulsive: symptoms are more in line with being hyperactive and unable to control impulses
3. Those with combined symptoms of all three
E. Medication Issues
1. Multi-modal Treatment Study-(MTA) used the common medication (methylphenidate) and behavioral therapy.
2. Behavior treatents in the MTA study include three approaches:
a. Parent training-help parents learn about ADHD and ways to manage behaviors
b. Child-focused treatment- help children learn to develop social, academic, and problem-solving skills
c. School-based intervention-help teachers meet children's educational needs by teachng them skills to manage behaviors int he classroom (rewards, consequences, and daily report cards home).
F. Classroom suggestions
1. Keep rules simple and enforce them consistently
2. Provide guides such as picture cards for classroom rules
3. Practice specific social skills, such as waiting for a turn or asking for a toy
4. Help the child learn to organize their materials
5. Keep constant communication with the child's family
6. Know medication schedule and how it will be administered
7. Praise the child when they complete a task or activity
8. Provide an avenue for the child to let you know when they need to get up and move around.
9. Work with the child's family to develop a systematic method for rewarding positive behavior
10. If playgroups or support groups are available they are very effective
Chapter Nine-Cailin
Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
I. Spectrum Disorder
A. Includes children with characteristics that range from mild to severe.
II. Autism
A. A biological disorder that lasts throughout a person's life
B. Causes delays or problems in different areas.
C. Falls under the broad category called pervasive developmental delays (PDD).
D. To be diagnosed with one of the five types, a child must exhibit delayed or atypical behaviors in atleast one of the three categories:
1. Interaction with others (social interaction)
2. Communication (response to others)
3. Behavior (includes bizarre or stereotypical behaviors, such as hand flapping)
III. Five Types of Autism
A. Autism
1. To be diagnosed, a significant number of characteristics must clearly be present:
a. A delay in social interaction such as eye contact or facial expression.
b. A delay in communication such as being nonverbal or using fewer words than peers.
c. Presence of behaviors that may be intense, almost obsessive, preoccupation with objects. As well as the need for routines that are nonfunctional and ritualistic and repeating motor movements over and over (hand flapping or rocking back and forth).
B. Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)
1. Often confused with PDD.
2. Used when it is determined that a child has autism while the characteristics displayed are not like the characteristics of other children with autism.
3. Also used when the onset of the disorder happens after 3 years of age.
C. Asperger syndrome
1. Children diagnosed typically behave like children with other types of autism when they are young.
2. As they age, children often learn how to socialize, communicate, and behave in more socially acceptable ways.
3. Most children with this sydrome have normal or above normal intelligence.
4. Children also said to have difficulty with coordination, vocal tone, depression, violent reactions to change, and a tendency for ritualistic behaviors.
5. May develop intense obsessions with objects or activities.
D. Rett's sydrome (or Rett's disorder)
1. A degenerative condition (worsens with time).
2. Begins in the first two years of life and is found almost only in girls.
3. Characteristics include loss of motor skills, hand wringing and repetitive hand movements, and a decrease in head growth.
4. Seizures and sleeping disorders also develop in many girls.
E. Childhood disintegrative disorder (sometimes called Heller's sydrome)
1. A degenerative condition.
2. Child may begin to develop normally but over a few months, will start to lose or forget how to do things.
3. Usually happens between ages three and four.
IV. Look at Child's Behavior
A.Children with autism traditionally do not learn by watching others and picking up environmental cues like typically developing children.
B. Their instruction must be more explicit.
C. A Applied behavior analysist can help teachers and children establish rules for setting up the environment to enable children with autism learn. And also help teachers identify the functions or reasons behind certain behaviors.
D. Children with autism function best when they have the following:
1. Structure and predictable routines
2. Environments that don't distract
3. Verbal reminders of what will happen next
4. Picture schedules
5. A quiet place to go where they can be alone for a few minutes
6. A classroom that doesn't overwhelm their senses with too much light or noise
Chapter Ten-Cailin
Children with Sensory Processing Disorder
I. Sensory Integration
A. The process in which information is received through the senses and sent to the brain to be organized.
B. Most people develop the ability to filter out unnecessary sensory information and respond appropriately to the environment.
C. Along with the five senses, the vestibular (movement) and proprioception (awareness of body position) senses are also important.
D. The vestibular system helps determine a sense of balance, eye-hand coordination, using both sides of the body to move such as for running, and orientation of the head.
E. The proprioceptive system orients the child so she knows where her body is in space (upright, lying down), provides the central nervous system with information that affects the muscles and joints, allows the child to know the distance, and also regulates the amount of pressure that is comfortable.
F. When these senses cannot work together to regulate the nervous system and build the foundation of purposeful movement, a child may develop a sensory integration disorder.
II. Sensory Integration Disorder
A. Used to describe a child who is unable to analyze and respond appropriately to the information received through their senses.
B. Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have significant sensory integration issues however, it is not always linked to a specific type of autism.
C. There are two types of SI disorders: hypersensitive (overstimulated by sensory information) and hyposensitive (understimulated by sensory information).
1. Hypersensitive:
a. Children may cover their eyes when lights are too bright or when pictures are too colorful.
b. Covers their ears at the slightest noise.
c. Holds nose a common odors.
d. Gets upset when touched, sensitive to textures and materials and are opposed to getting dirty.
e. Eats foods of only a certain texture or sensitive to hot and cold foods.
f. Doesn't like to move, dance, hop, etc. Walks off balance.
2. Hyposensitive:
a. Children may seem like they have vision loss (doesn't respond to light) or may stare at flickering lights.
b. Speaks and sings loudly and plays music or the television too loudly.
c. Ignores bad odors (does not respond to strong odors).
d. Bumps into people, seemingly unable to tell when he is in pain or injured or does not cry when he falls.
e. Wants to eat only spicy food, adds a lot of salt or pepper to food, or may lick objects or toys.
f. Likes to move fast, doesn't get dizzy when twirling around, and in constant motion.
III. How to Make the Classroom Sensory "Friendly"
A. The combination of alerting, organizing, and calming techniques can help a child with sensory issues cope with all the input he receives.
B. An occupational therapist can help you learn how to organize the environment to be more "sensory friendly."
C. Children with SI disorders often respond well to items that enable them to better organize all the input they receive through their senses, such as using chew toys, weighted vests, toys to squeeze, and soft seats.
D. For children
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen-Jamie HANDLING CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS
What is challenging behavior
Behaviors they exhibit occur for two reasons...
A: either to gain access to something they perceive as needed
B: to avoid someting that is undesirable
The following activities can help minimize the amount of time spent on dealing with challenging behaviors...
A: modeling appropriate behavior
B: offering choices
C: being proactive and making expectations clear, before challenging behaviors occur
D: verbally acknowledge positive behaviors
E: encourage children to interact with others appropriately
What behaviors can be tolerated
A: if a child is engaging in a behavior that could result in injury to themselves or others, it must be stopped immediately
B: if a child is engaging in a behavior that can be ignored, then ignoring is often the best option
What is a functional assessment
The process of determining the relationship between events in a persons environment and the occurrence of challenging behaviors...
A: identify and define the challeging behavior
B: identify the events and circumstances regulary associated with the occurrence and the nonoccurrences of the challenging behavior
C: determine the social function or purpose that brought about the challenging behavior
Other setting events that may trigger the challenging behavior...
A: staff changes
B: medication changes
C: sleep habits
D: illness
E: stress
F: chaotic environment
G: surprise visits
H: aggression by a peer
I: temperature changes
J: dissatisfaction with a specific event
Identification of positive behavior
All children should be taught several important positive behaviors...
A: trust
B: social relationships
C: managing feelings
D: motivation
E: finding solutions to challenges
F: respect for other and themselves
Strategies
There are many different strategies that involve a purpose, a focus, a develop, a practice, and a reflect
A: communicative replacement
B: learning to wait
C: i think i can, i know i can
D: rejecting an optimal activity
E: anger management
Chapter Sixteen-Jamie BUILDING COMMUNICATION
Understanding communication
Communication is about sending and receiving messages. The important thing to remember is that before a child can effectively communicate, they must have the tools they need to do so and they must know how to use those tools.
Levels of communication development
A: its all abut me (egocentric)
- reaching out to an adult with their hands to indicate "i want"
- screaming or throwing a tantrum when they dont get what they want
- smiling when someone looks at them
- being open with those they know and beig very shy around strangers and new people
- interacting with adults who are familier to them
- repeating phrases over and over just for fun
B: i want it (requesting)
- grabbing your hand and pulling you toward something they want
- saying a few basic words
- moving their body to communicate "i want more"
- learning to sign the word "more" by putting their hands together
- approximating words or attempting a few new words
C: actions and reactions (emerging communication)
- taking turns with others
- understanding the names of those familiar the them
- repeating what they just heard
- using gestures more consistently such as shaking their head "no"
- answering simple questions
- asking for something or requesting the continuation of an activity
- using words or signs in more meaningful ways
D: two way street (reciprocal communication)
- intentionally using words to greet
- asking questions and describing important events
- epressing ideas and feelings that are relevant to them
- having short conversations
- repeating something if they think the listener does not understand
- starting to use longer sentences with more descriptive words
How do you set appropriate goals for communication
Several general guidlines can be considered when planning activities such as...
A: learning to communicate with others should always be a top priority for every child
B: every child must have a reliable way to communictae, which means if the child is nonverbal alternative methods must be considered
C: the ultimate goal is for any child to communicate because it is meaningful to them. You want the child to learn to use communication as a form of self expression.
D: help the child use communication as a way to connect their world with that of their peers
What about children who are nonverbal
For these children it may be necessary to use an alternative or augmentative form of communication, which would be a low techand a high tech method.
A: low tech method includes pictures or objects that the child either points to or selects as a way to tell you what they want or need
B: high tech method inclued a battery operated device that the child activates in some manner or a computer that talks for the child